There’s no shortage of statistics the customer experience. Practically every day there is new online market research, backed by data, facts, charts, and figures, emphasizing the importance of providing customers with the type of experience that will inspire satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
With such an abundance of aggregated data, research, and resources, the question then becomes: How is your company effectively using that information? It’s one thing to read the statistics – it’s another to act on them.
To help companies determine the best ways to turn data and statistics into actionable information, we pulled tips from a variety of industry experts.
The following is our curated list of 10 simple tactics managers can use to improve the customer experience on a daily basis:
1. See the Business from the Viewpoint of Customers
“There’s value in getting to know your customers outside of their interactions with your company. In other words, finding out what the rest of their lives look like. This isn’t easy either, but it’s important.
Read what your customers read (for example online reviews of your company — and of your competitors); don’t assume their journey with your company begins on your website or at your front door.”
(Source: Micah Solomon, Forbes)
2. Give Customers the Chance to Succeed at Self Service
“On the Web, don’t wipe out all the data entered just because customers accidentally hit ‘return’ before they are done. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to enter address and credit card information for the second time. And don’t bounce customers out of the IVR prematurely.”
(Source: Elaine Cascio, TMCnet)
3. Make It Standard Practice for Agents to Introduce Themselves
“How an agent answers a call is so important, as it helps set the tone of the whole conversation. By getting your agents to introduce themselves when they answer a call, the customer will feel that they are talking to a ‘real person.’
This can also help agents build rapport faster and create an all-round better customer experience.”
(Source: Call Centre Helper)
4. Provide a Consistent Customer Experience Across Channels
“Efficiently collecting and analyzing data via multiple channels can be challenging, especially with customers expecting quick, efficient responses to their concerns.
With a multi-channel speech analytics system in place, call center managers and supervisors can analyze every agent-to-customer interaction – regardless of the channel. Because it’s not uncommon for customers to use multiple channels to resolve a single issue, multi-channel analytics also analyzes linked interactions across channels, which creates a complete picture of the customer experience journey.”
(Source: CallMiner)
5. Act on Customer Feedback
“Everyone knows the importance of customer feedback, but not all companies actually act on the feedback and make the changes customers are looking for. Gartner feels this is something all organizations should be doing to increase their number of satisfied, loyal customers, and recommends communicating changes clearly and openly to all members of the organization.
Technologies like speech and text analytics, as well as customer surveys, are often used for gathering customer opinions.”
(Source: TechTarget)
6. Catch Up With Your Employees
“Seventy percent of the American workforce is not actively engaged. If your employees are losing their enthusiasm or are just going through the motions, your customer experience will suffer.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple ‘how are you?’ to begin reinforcing a culture where both customers and employees are actively engaged. Ask employees for their opinions of how internal processes or communications can be improved. Find out what they think customers want.
If you need to reignite the passion of disengaged employees, straightforward communication is the key to the kingdom.”
(Source: Jeannie Walters, iMedia Connection)
7. Develop a Social Media Presence
“More customers and prospects are using social media to interact with customer service departments. Consumers expect to be engaged by companies when asking a question or posting a complaint.
One study by NM Incite found that nearly half of U.S. social media users actively seek customer service through social sites. Prompt attention to customer complaints, questions, or comments on social sites provides a great opportunity to build better customer relationships with social followers.”
(Source: Larisa Bedgood, Business2Community)
8. Enhance the Mobile Customer Experience
“According to a 2012 report by Strategic Analytics, more than 1 billion people own a smartphone, opening endless opportunities for companies looking to enhance their mobile customer service.
The latest mobile technologies enable seamless connectivity from the mobile phone to the agent at the call center. Solutions such as touch screen and Visual IVR reduce call times and hold times while providing a better customer experience.
The customer does not need to repeat information, such as account details and reasons for calling, nor does she need to wait around until all options are said. Instead, she can see the options and choose quickly. The customer can also schedule callbacks at convenient times.”
(Source: Guy Yair, Smart Customer Service
9. Consider the Complete Customer Journey
“Customer journey analytics paints a holistic picture of each customer’s interaction with an organization, and evaluates their experience every step of the way, from the first touch through the last.
As a result, enterprises need to take every opportunity that they are given by the customer (or prospect) to optimize each contact and deliver an outstanding experience. This means that it’s not just the responsibility of the customer service department to deliver great service, but rather this should be a shared goal of every single person in the company (or entity).”
(Source: Donna Fluss, DMG Consulting)
10. Continuously Improve the Customer Experience
“Companies that consistently deliver exceptional customer experiences don’t get there by accident. They also don’t rest on their laurels.
They listen closely to what their customers are telling them and incessantly review and act on customer feedback, including processes that stand to be improved.”
(Source: Tom Hoffman, 1to1 Media)
Final Thoughts
With the rise of social customer relationship management, mobile engagement, and other forms of digital communication, the customer experience has become more important than ever. Providing customers with exceptional service doesn’t have to be costly or time consuming. What matters most is taking the time to consider, each and every day, what your company can do to make the customer experience the best it can be.
The above are just a few of the many ways organizations can work to improve the customer experience on a daily basis. What tips or tactics would you recommend?
Image Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Mathias Rosenthal
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